Reston, Virginia

SHARE

Reston

Reston, Virginia, earned its place in U.S. history as America's first large-scale master-planned community built after World War II. Founded in 1964, it has grown continually, reaching a population of 60,000 by 2010. It is located approximately 30 miles from Washington, D.C., and has become Fairfax County’s most populous community. The town itself—which deliberately mixes housing, employment and places of recreation—is the biggest attraction of Reston.

The name "Reston" is derived from the initials of developer/entrepreneur Robert E. Simon. Simon purchased the land on which Reston was built with proceeds from his family's sale of Carnegie Halland then hired a team of architects and…